Modern day hero

Supergiant's Hades is in many ways a departure from the studio's earlier work. Unlike Bastion, Transistor, or Pyre, it's a roguelike dungeon crawler, and it's also the first of the team's games to be put out in early access. One thing that ties all of Supergiant's work together, though, is a strong narrative. Hades' protagonist is Zagreus, a blurry member of the Greek pantheon who is seen only through fragmentary texts that identify him as the son of Hades, lord of the underworld. (He may have later been merged with the myth of the god of wine, Dionysus, further obscuring his original tales.) The developers took this loose foundation and built up their own character, a rebellious young man who wants to escape his father's underworld, tasking the player with battling through an ever-shifting maze of enemies in an attempt to reach the surface. Creative director Greg Kasavin has worked on writing and implementing the narrative on all four of Supergiant's games, but this is the first one … [Read more...] about How Hades brings Greek mythology into the modern day

THE mystery over the death of Alexander the Great may have finally been solved – and his passing was grislier than historians had ever imagined. The fearsome military genius succumbed to a rare disease that left him paralysed for six days, gradually robbing him of his ability to move, speak and breath, claims a new study. It means the ancient Macedonian ruler was likely still alive while his loyal soldiers prepared his body for burial in 323 BC. His muscles were paralysed to the point that doctors couldn't see he was still breathing, meaning he was pronounced dead nearly a week early. One of history's finest warmongers, Alexander the Great established the largest empire the ancient world had ever seen through a series of ferocious military conquests. At the age of 25, his army overcame overwhelming odds to crush the Persian territories of Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt without suffering a single defeat. The towering leader fell ill suddenly in Babylon aged 32, and for … [Read more...] about Alexander the Great ‘was ALIVE while his body was prepared for burial’ – after rare disease left him paralysed for six days

Luke Cage has evolved for season 2. No longer the reluctant hero struggling with his own powers - he’s now fully embraced his role as Hero of Harlem. More than that, he’s actively working on his image, promoting himself as the go-to crime-stopper in the district, and a public figure for hire. Sure, he’s still got his demons, and there are a wealth of villains out there waiting to (try to) dethrone Cage, but at the start of the season he’s actively enjoying his new found fame. Mild spoilers for season 2 follow.“The first season is all about tone - you’re just trying to establish who the character is,” says Cheo Hodari Coker, showrunner on Luke Cage, in an interview with GamesRadar. In the second season Coker is actively playing around with Luke Cage, showing the viewer the advantages and drawbacks of becoming such a well-known superhero. In the first episode of season 2 - which is directed by Lucy Liu - we see Cage emerging (on fire) from a … [Read more...] about Luke Cage season 2 aims to show that our hero is vulnerable on the inside, even if he’s bulletproof on the outside

With Battle for Azeroth, the next World of Warcraft expansion on its way, so it’s no surprise that Heroes of the Storm is heading to Azeroth for its next big expansion pack. The MOBA’s next big event, Echoes of Alterac, comes on the heels of the Mexican wrestling inspired Nexomania, and brings players back to the classic Alterac Valley showdowns that defined PvP in World of Warcraft’s classic battlegrounds. Echoes of Alterac comes with two massive new features: the first is a brand new battleground, Alterac Pass, the first Warcraft battleground in the game. Along with Alterac Pass, a new hero is hitting the nexus: Yrel. Yrel, a paladin from the Warlords of Draenor expansion, is a melee warrior (and the first Draenei in Heroes of the Storm) who charges her attacks and holds the front line with heavy AOE damage and tankiness. Echoes of Alterac is the game’s most sizeable event since last year’s Assault on Volskaya Foundry, and it’s the payoff to tons … [Read more...] about Heroes of the Storm celebrates all things Warcraft with Echoes of Alterac

Five years ago, Mike Pondsmith, the creator of the Cyberpunk 2020 pen-and-paper role-playing game that forms the basis of Cyberpunk 2077 told me: "As long as the street needs heroes and heroes are willing to throw the dice to beat impossible odds, the world is going to need cyberpunk." Done correctly, cyberpunk can help us experience futuristic worlds, amazing stories and emerge as a wiser person on the other side. It's a genre that takes the problems of present-day society to troubling, dystopian ends, and explores ways to combat them. For a while, major works like Blade Runner, Neuromancer, Akira, and Ghost in the Shell overshadowed strides forward in the genre, but they're no longer the be-all and end-all. In just the last few years, there has been a surge of new creators in all forms of media who are more than willing to dive into these eternal yet difficult concepts, and explore new issues relevant to us today. Whether it's the revival of Deus Ex or Shadowrun that kicked things … [Read more...] about Why Cyberpunk 2077 Is So Important To The Genre And Modern Society